Yoga Anatomy
by Leslie Kaminoff
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Book Reviews of Yoga Anatomy
Book Review: An excellent work on yoga anatomy for a very reasonable price!
Summary: 5 Stars
Yoga anatomy is a detailed work on how the various yoga asanas impact us at an anatomical level. For a variety of standing, sitting, kneeling, supine, prone and arm support yoga poses the key anatomical structures, joint and limb actions, working and lengthening of muscles and breathing involved in the pose are described. The obstacles to getting into the poses are also described. I found this to be extremely useful. The diagrams are detailed and by looking at it one would know what muscles and joints are involved in the yoga posture. Getting into a posture is not very difficult for many; but the question is if they are doing it the right way by involving the right muscles and joints. For example the book clearly mentions that in Uttanasana (standing forward bend) hip flexion is the main joint action but if the hamstrings are tight then spine flexes to compensate for it. By being aware of this fact, one can focus on flexing the hip and correctly get into the pose without flexing the spine much. By being aware of the correct muscles groups/ joints my yoga practice has benefitted immensely. My hip has opened easing pressure on my spinal muscles and my back pain has eased considerably because of that. For some poses, the book does not pictorically depict all the muscles mentioned in the description. The book talks about latissimus dorsi lengthening in Utkatasana but the illustration does not show that. Overall, this is a great book for a very reasonable price!
Book Review: The book I've been waiting for
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is a godsend for anyone who studies or teaches yoga. It reflects so much care and work and attentiveness to detail. It really is anatomy for yogis. I've been studying yoga for close to 40 years and have been exposed to a variety of corrective allignment forms of body work. So when I'm having trouble in a posture I often refer to standard anatomy books but they can be overwhelming and aren't geared towards helping me understand what is going on in a given posture. Despite taking several anatomy classes including a wondrous anatomy dissection class, I still don't have enough knowledge to translate what I read or see in an antomy text into what I'm doing and not doing in a given yoga posture. There are books that aim to be more inclusive, like Mel Robin's book on the physiology of yoga--but I just get overwhelmed by that much information. This book helps me see the main muscles working in a given posture and the main reasons I might be having difficulty with that posture. Of course I would like even more--how can I strengthen or lengthen the muscles that I'm needing to employ in a given posture. But that is asking for too much and I think really requires work with a well trained teacher. This book is just the right size, user friendly and chocked full of information. The illustrations are remarkable, showing postures from different angles and reflecting the author's extensive study of both anatomy and yoga. I highly recommend it.Book Review: Yoga Anatomy
Summary: 5 Stars
I guess I'm one of those people that likes to understand the how and why of everything I do. Therefore, whenever I workout, I find myself wondering about the purpose of each particular exercise. Am I actually working, strengthen, or stretching my muscles in a way that is beneficial to my body or am I just wasting my time? Am I doing the exercises correctly or am I setting myself up for an injury? Perhaps that's why I love the Anatomy series from Human Kinetics. They have a number of different books that take a deeper look at Stretch Training, Stretching, and Yoga exercises.
Yoga Anatomy has full coloured pictures of the body for a wide variety of movements: breathing, standing poses, sitting poses, kneeling poses, supine poses, prone poses, and arm support poses. These pictures show which muscles are in use during a particular motion. Extra information is then included about which joints are involved and which muscles are lengthening and working during the process. Each entry also notes proper breathing as well as information on any challenges associated with the pose.
In this way, there is no guess work involved. I know exactly what each posture is meant to do, which muscles I'll be working, and how to prevent injuries. I can then take full responsibility for my health and fitness.
Book Review: Clear and Concise
Summary: 3 Stars
Clear, concise, comprehensive, and beautifully illustrated, Yoga Anatomy gives an anatomical perspective of the human body in yoga poses. Each pose is treated with information about its classification and level, key (body) structures used, joint actions, parts of the body working, muscles being lengthened, breathing activity, obstacles, cautions, and notes. Kaminoff does a fine job of explaining--and showing--how the muscles, spine, breathing, and body position are connected and how to get the most out of your yoga practice.
This Silver Nautilus award-winning book is a yoga instructor's delight. People like myself who dabble in yoga will find that it offers invaluable insight into the inner workings of yoga poses within the body. The anatomical drawings that accompany each pose make it an easy-to-use resource and even if you didn't read the accompanying text, you would learn something. For those who haven't had an introduction to the philosophy of yoga or the practice, I'd suggest that you read a yoga "primer" as well, since Yoga Anatomy delves into the details without much preamble--although, the first two chapters thoroughly explain the finer points of breathing and the spine (postural development). This book is a valuable resource and worth keeping in your home library of healing arts.
Book Review: Good illustrations - not so good "how to."
Summary: 3 Stars
This book does an excellent job of explaining which part of the body is used in each asana (muscle groups, tendons, etc). I particularly liked the very in depth intro describing the anatomy of how humans breathe - very useful in yoga practice. The illustrations were also great and they covered quite a variety of poses.
However, I was expecting more of a how to guide for each pose. Possibly a "make sure to keep your feet in line...tuck your tailbone...look forward to lengthen the neck...keep your thigh rotated to bring your knee out...etc" - things you hear from teachers in class that help you get the correct posture. This is not the case with this book.
I also thought the anatomy part was a little overkill. It's nice to know which part of the body is affected but I am not a doctor and to use the Latin terms just confuses me. Many times muscles were referenced in the text of a pose that did not have a label in that pose's illustration - which means I either had to remember what that muscle was or look back through the book. Not that user friendly.
Overall: good book for those who want an anatomical understanding of yoga. Not good for someone looking to supplement classes or practice on their own.
Hope this helps, Namaste.